The present invention relates to a workpiece fabric holding device. The present invention also relates to a pocket setter having the workpiece fabric holding device.
An automatic pocket setter unit has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,006 for automatically sewing a pocket to a garment. In this unit, edge portions of a pocket cloth are folded by a pocket folding means, and the folded edge portions are stitched to the garment.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the pocket setter unit includes a sewing machine 101 for performing stitching operation, a sewing machine table 102, a workpiece fabric holding/feeding unit 103 for pressedly holding a workpiece or a pocket cloth W onto the sewing machine table 102, a pocket folder 104 for folding edge portions of the pocket cloth W and for mounting the pocket cloth onto a garment, and a stacker 105 for successively stacking stitched pocket cloths and the garments. The sewing machine table 102 serves as a working table available for both the pocket folder 104 and the sewing machine 101 as well as for a throat plate therefor.
The sewing machine 101 is provided movable in Y-direction by a moving mechanism which includes a Y-axis servo motor (not shown in FIG. 6) and a toothed belt 112 The workpiece fabric holding/feeding unit 103 includes a pressure plate 114 formed with a slit-like needle cut-out 113, and a feed arm 115 to which the pressure plate 114 is attached. A second moving mechanism is provided for moving the feed arm 115 in X-direction. The second moving mechanism includes a X-axis servo motor 116 and a toothed belt 117. Further, the feed arm 115 is supported on a slider member 118 movable in a vertical direction. The slider member 118 is connected to a pneumatic cylinder 119 whose piston rod is vertically extendible and retractable, so that the feed arm 115 is movable in vertical direction. Consequently, the pressure plate 114 has a descent position in which the plate 114 is pressingly positioned on the sewing machine table 102, and an ascent position in which the plate 114 is moved away from the sewing machine table 102.
The pocket cloth whose edges are folded by the pocket folder 104 is mounted on the garment mounted on the sewing machine table 102. Then, the pocket folder 104 is moved upwardly, and the workpiece holding/feeding unit 103 is moved so as to press the workpieces W (including the pocket cloth and the garment) onto the sewing machine table 102 by the pressure plate 114. Thereafter, the workpiece holding/feeding unit 103 slidingly moves, on the table 102, the workpieces W from a pocket folder position to the sewing machine position. By controlling the movements of the sewing machine 101 and the workpiece fabric holding/feeding unit 103, sewing locus is provided along the needle cut-out 113 formed on the pressure plate 114 for performing a pocket stitching.
In this type of automatic sewing machine, the workpieces W including the pocket cloth and the garment are stackedly pressed on the sewing machine table 102, and the workpieces W are moved by the workpiece fabric holding/feeding unit 103 so as to move the workpieces W along the intended stitching locus. The needle cut-out 113 formed on the pressure plate 114 is of a single line delineating the stitching locus. In accordance with every one of the sewing patterns, every one of the pressure plates 114 is prepared, and the pressure plate 114 is replaced by another pressure plate in accordance with the every change in the sewing patterns and associated sewing programs.
Among various sewing patterns, there are resembling sewing patterns as shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, right and left pocket sewing patterns are shown which are closely resembled with each other, even though not identical to each other. The sewing pattern of the right pocket PA is slightly different from that of the left pocket PB.
Here, according to the conventional device, two kinds of pressure plates 114 each formed with needle cut-out 113 slightly different from each other must be prepared for the right pocket sewing and left pocket sewing. However, it would be troublesome to replace the pressure plate by another pressure plate, even in the case of sewings with respect to the resembling sewing patterns. Particularly, if the right and left pocket sewings must be alternately performed with respect to the identical garment, the sewing efficiency may become greatly lowered due to alternate change of the pressure plate with the another pressure plate.